Die Therapeutenvariable

Background

The objective of this study was to investigate the therapeutic attitude as a self-contained dimension of the therapeutic process.

Patients and methods

The psychotherapists’ beliefs and attitudes in therapeutic matters are measured according to the Therapeutic Attitude Scales (TASC) of the Therapeutic Attitude Questionnaire (ThAt) and were applied to investigate the therapist variable. The investigation concentrated on the therapist’s belief in the curative value of a number of ingredients of psychotherapy, on the therapist’s individual style of conducting psychotherapy and on basic assumptions about the nature of psychotherapy and the nature of the human mind. A total of 451 psychotherapists (81 psychodynamic psychotherapists, 208 psychoanalytic psychotherapists and 162 behaviour therapists) were investigated.

Results

There were highly significant differences between the three groups of therapists, a finding which is in line with the basic theory. Adaptation and insight of the assumed curative factors as well as supportiveness and neutrality of the technique factors, differentiate the groups highly significantly. The multivariate analysis underlines the importance of adaptation and insight to differentiate between all groups.

Conclusion

The results by and large confirm the general assumptions held on the differences between the groups. Thus the ThAt appears to be a valid instrument to grasp more subtle features of the therapist variable that may influence the outcome of psychotherapy.     

Effects of repetition priming on recognition memory: testing a perceptual fluency-disfluency model

Five experiments explored the effects of immediate repetition priming on episodic recognition (the "Jacoby-Whitehouse effect") as measured with forced-choice testing. These experiments confirmed key predictions of a model adapted from D. E. Huber and R. C. O'Reilly's (2003) dynamic neural network of perception. In this model, short prime durations pre-activate primed items, enhancing perceptual fluency and familiarity, whereas long prime durations result in habituation, causing perceptual disfluency and less familiarity. Short duration primes produced a recognition preference for primed words (Experiments 1, 2, and 5), whereas long duration primes produced a preference against primed words (Experiments 3, 4, and 5). Experiment 2 found prime duration effects even when participants accurately identified short duration primes. A cued-recall task included in Experiments 3, 4, and 5 found priming effects only for recognition trials that were followed by cued-recall failure. These results suggest that priming can enhance as well as lower familiarity, without affecting recollection. Experiment 4 provided a manipulation check on this procedure through a delay manipulation that preferentially affected recognition followed by cued-recall success.     

Which factors best account for academic success: Those which college students can control or those they cannot?

This study integrates research linking academic performance with individual differences and class attendance. Whereas individual differences (ability, traits) are not controllable by students, students can control their attendance, study and work. Thus we sought to determine the extent to which “control” and “no control” variables predict academic performance. With N = 338, measures of verbal ability, the five-factor model, GPA, academic goals, and study behavior were used to predict exams, attendance, and independent projects completed. Uncontrollable factors accounted for 37% of the variance in exam scores; controllable factors accounted for an additional 6–10%. We also found an interaction such that, relative to low-ability peers, high-ability students’ attendance most enhanced their exam performance. Attendance was best accounted for by GPA, study and work. Projects were best predicted by low verbal ability and by personality traits.     

A Comment on Metacognitive Experiences and Consumer Choice

This commentary discusses the role that naive theories play in consumer judgment. It emphasizes deviation from expectations as a driver of metacognitive activity and discusses challenges involved in transposing Schwarz's (2004) elegant framework to the domain of consumer choice. The author concludes that the value of the metacognitive framework is limited when applied to choices, especially those for which subjective experience effects are driven by affect or emotions.     

Die Therapie-Vorbereitungsgruppe

There are different kinds of pretraining for psychotherapeutic treatment. They have two objectives: to get future patients in the right frame of mind for the imminent psychotherapy by informing them about the treatment, and to support therapists while clarifying the indication and selecting patients. Pretherapy training for group psychotherapy is frequently offered in Anglo-American countries. So far empirical studies have only partly been able to prove the supposed positive effects of pretraining on process and outcome of psychotherapy treatment, particularly as the studies showed profound flaws with regard to methods and pretraining concepts. The “Therapie-Vorbereitungsgruppe” presented here is a pretherapy training group in the run-up to inpatient group psychotherapy at a German university clinic. In Germany, such groups are rarely offered. The “Therapie-Vorbereitungsgruppe” consists of weekly meetings of therapists of a psychotherapeutic ward and applicants for inpatient treatment. Ward members introduce the applicants into the concept of treatment and the treatment setting and they explore the psychological background of each of the applicants. Besides economical the concept has clinical and therapeutic advantages. Future inpatients get a realistic view of the treatment, they can build up a relationship to other inpatients and to therapists, and besides waiting for the admission to the clinic is made more bearable. Therapists are helped with their decision on the admission. The concept has proved itself in clinical practice for many years. The empirical proof of its effectiveness and a comparison with other, similar concepts fall due.     

Social attention in keas, dogs, and human children

Understanding animals’ abilities to cooperate with and learn from each other has been an active field of research in recent years. One important basis for all types of social interactions is the disposition of animals to pay attention to each other—a factor often neglected in discussions and experiments. Since attention differs between species as well as between individuals, it is likely to influence the amount and type of information different species and/or observers may extract from conspecifics in any given situation. Here, we carried out a standardized comparative study on attention towards a model demonstrating food-related behavior in keas, dogs and children. In a series of experimental sessions, individuals watched different conspecific models while searching, manipulating and feeding. Visual access to the demonstration was provided by two observation holes, which allowed us to determine exactly how often and for how long observers watched the model. We found profound differences in the factors that influence attention within as well as between the tested species. This study suggests that attention should be incorporated as an important variable when testing species in social situations.     

The Relationship Between Individual Inputs, Perceptions, and Multidimensional Pay Satisfaction

Within the framework of revised discrepancy theory, this study examines the relationships of individual inputs and perceptual variables on four facets of pay satisfaction among 301 university faculty members. Statistically controlling for common method variance, actual pay exerted a strong direct effect on such satisfaction. While individual inputs were differentially related to the four measures of pay satisfaction, the perceptual variables (performance, pay fairness, contingent pay, commitment, and job satisfaction) were directly related to at least one dimension of pay satisfaction but did not generally interact with actual pay. The findings suggest perceptual variables affect pay judgments directly, while individual variables may directly or indirectly be related to aspects of pay satisfaction.     

Licensure in Counseling: An Alternative Direction

Bernstein, B.L, & Lecomte, C. Licensure in Psychology: Alternative Directions. Professional Psychology, 1981, 12, 200–208.